MMA News

Women’s superstar Marloes Coenen (20-5) of the Netherlands has been added to the stacked DREAM 18 MMA card at Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan on New Year’s Eve.

The featherweight (145 pounds/66 kilograms) submission specialist faces ‘Ferocious’ Fiona Muxlow (6-1) of Queensland, Australia. Like Coenen, the majority of Muxlow’s wins have been by way of submission and she is riding a three-fight winning streak.

“I’m so excited to fight at the most anticipated event of the year in Japan. GSI is producing DREAM on New Year’s Eve and it’s great that they have a female fight so prominently on the card. On the other side of the world there’s also a highly-anticipated female fight coming up, so I’m really happy that women are getting the attention that they deserve,” says Coenen.

“Knowing that I already submitted one half of the UFC’s first-ever female fight, I’m keen on testing myself here in the Far East where martial arts started. I’m still one of the world’s top females and have been ever since winning my first world title in Japan in 2000. I’m strong in my mission to dominate the women’s MMA world.”

Coenen fought for the highly successful all-female US promotion Invicta FC in her last outing, taking a unanimous decision win over Romy Ruyssen. In her three fights before that she won, defended and then lost the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight championship that was most recently held by Ronda Rousey until her move to the UFC several weeks ago.

Rousey’s first defense of the UFC title will be against Liz Carmouche in February. Coincidentally that was also the first opponent that Coenen faced after winning the Strikeforce title. Coenen submitted Carmouche with a triangle choke in the fourth round of their fight in March last year.

New Year’s Eve will be Coenen’s 15th fight in Japan, having spent the first half of her career fighting in front of audiences in Tokyo and Shizuoka. By contrast Muxlow has spent her entire career fighting in her native Australia apart from one trip to neighboring New Zealand for a fight in June last year. Muxlow fought in October this year and took a unanimous decision win.

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